WEST ALLIS, Wisc. – After a tumultuous weekend off-track, as he vented over what he believes to be Penske Entertainment’s lack of urgency in landing a race in Mexico City, Pato O’Ward turned that frustration into a resounding victory in IndyCar’s return to the Milwaukee Mile, the Arrow McLaren driver’s first oval victory in more than two years.

After a winless season in 2023, Saturday’s win to kickoff the series’ doubleheader at The Mile gives O’Ward and Arrow McLaren a career-high third win.

“This was a tough weekend, but it was a great way to bounce back after Portland (where O’Ward finished 15th),” the 25-year-old Mexican driver said. “The car was fantastic, and I just had to bring it home for the boys who gave me fantastic pit stops.

“We’ll enjoy it for today, and tomorrow’s back to business again.”

IndyCar at Milwaukee Race 1: Pato O'Ward picks up third win of season

After leading a race-high 133 laps during Saturday’s dusk race, what looked as if it would be a runaway win for O’Ward came down to the closing laps as he had to manage lapped traffic and hold off championship contender Will Power. O’Ward’s lead was briefly trimmed to a half-second, before the No. 5 Chevy driver found clear track and sped away to take the checkered flag with a 1.8-second cushion.

For Power, who started 5th but fell outside the top 10 for chunks mid-race, the finish salvaged long-shot title hopes, carving into championship-leader Alex Palou’s lead by another 11 points to come within 43 of the defending champion with two races to go in the 2024 season. As so often has during his four-year stretch with Chip Ganassi Racing, Palou didn’t seriously factor into the race-winner conversation, but still managed a simplistic top 5 in 5th-place, his 13th such finish of the year.

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He and Power only narrowly escaped what could’ve been a championship-altering crash just past the halfway point when Power’s Penske teammate Josef Newgarden made contact with Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson as the pair rounded Turn 2, battling for 2nd-place on Lap 146. Neither willing to give an inch, it was unclear whether Ericsson drifted up the track a few inches into Newgarden or if the No. 2 Chevy chopped down on the No. 28 Honda. The pair had a rather spirited conversation with plenty of hand gestures on-track before the AMR safety team whisked them away to the infield care center.

Race control reviewed but made no call on the incident, leaving Newgarden 26th and Ericsson 27th at the checkered flag.

At the time of the crash, Palou (4th) and Power (5th) were running directly behind, and both skirted below the skidding Dallaras.

The race’s other consequential caution came 40 laps later in the middle of the final round of pitstops as Colton Herta’s No. 26 Honda crew failed to get the Andretti Global driver’s left-front wheel attached before Herta drove off. The wheel spun off before he rounded Turn 2, though he managed to navigate his way back to pitlane without any contact, and the field managed to avoid the loose wheel rolling down the track.

Ahead of the caution, Palou led Power while the CGR car ran 2nd, but Herta’s loose wheel came with Power still out on-track along with eventual podium-finisher Conor Daly, among others. At the time of the yellow, Power and Daly were scored just one lap ahead of race-leader O’Ward, meaning that when they pitted towards the end of the nearly 20-lap caution period, O’Ward was again granted the lead, with Santino Ferrucci in 2nd, followed by Power, Linus Lundqvist, Christian Lunddgaard, Daly and Palou in the top 7.

Following the final restart on Lap 203, Power finally picked off Ferrucci for nab 2nd-place, and within seconds, Daly whizzed by his on-track rival as well to help seal his second-career IndyCar podium, his first since 2016 (Detroit Race 1) and the first podium for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Ferrucci (4th), Palou (5th), Lundqvist (6th), Alexander Rossi (7th), Scott McLaughlin (8th), Lundgaard (9th) and Scott Dixon rounded out the top 10.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: O'Ward dominates return to Milwaukee, Power trims Palou's lead